Finding Our Song
by Pierrot's Vault
Summary: "I wish…" she whispers close to the little candle, like it was a friend she's telling a secret to, "I wish that this is the year he finally picks up what's left of his heart." ... (Rated M for language and future... possibilities)(AU)
1. Say Something

Chapter One: Say Something (I'm Giving Up on You)

* * *

><p>It's been six years, exactly to the date.<p>

_Not that long really_, she thinks, just a little more than a fifth of her twenty-three years on earth. She doesn't know if she said that just to put things into perspective or to convince herself.

She leans her forehead on the cool surface of the window of the bus, packed like a sardine next to a man she barely knows. Based on the stink of beer (that heady, intoxicating-without-meaning-too smell that she associates with warm, quiet nights) and the unkempt and rumpled clothes, he wouldn't be someone she'd want to know anyway. Especially since he's been eyeing her up and down ever since he got on.

Oh the awesome tapestry of life.

She'd have gotten off a while ago if it wasn't raining. And damn it that she was too lazy to take an umbrella with her this morning.

And that she's dead on her feet to boot. Her shifts in the hospital had increased, now that she's _so _close to graduating. Just a little bit more… And all these five years would have been worth it. Tsunade-shishou doesn't say it, but Sakura knows. She's proud of her for finishing med school early, head and shoulders above the rest of her class.

Unbidden, she wonders if her friends back home would have been proud of her too.

But that's a debate she's too nostalgic at the moment to objectively participate in.

Her gaze doesn't go beyond the window, instead she focuses on her reflection in the mirror. Long pink hair tied in a bun, once neat and perfect, now with strands straying along her nape. All-too-tired green eyes with dark circles adorning them that concealer can't completely erase.

It's not that bad is it?

With a bit of color on her lips and a bit of eye shadow, at least she doesn't look like a total zombie.

Sakura lets a smirk grace her pretty mouth, her sailor mouth that can demolish a man just as well as build him up… a smirk reminiscent of someone's, someone she knew a long time ago.

Hey, at least Mr. Drunk-as-a-skunk to her left still finds her attractive.

God, it's been too long.

Her sense of humor was declining.

* * *

><p>The apartment is a rental.<p>

It's the first one she got since she moved to Suna six years ago. It's small, but she likes to think that it's cozy.

The yellowing floral wallpaper? Vintage.

The way the kitchen butted into the living room? Space and time-saving.

It doesn't really matter what anyone else may think, that she can do better— and in fact, she _can _afford better. But this was home. These walls had seen much crying and breaking down, self-congratulatory celebrations, crazy late-night study sessions, and then some more crying. It may be silly to think (in fact she's not sure whether it's just the loneliness or if she should find a psychiatrist) but it feels like this apartment has nurtured her in its arms.

But now Gaara is suggesting that she _move in_ with him.

What would that be like?

She drops her purse on the second-hand (so soft) couch and heads straight to the fridge. With extreme care, she lifts a small slice of New York Cheesecake with a little pink candle on top.

Because it's not just the six year anniversary of her new life in Suna, in an advance med school that's slowly eating away at her health and sanity.

It's also her twenty-third birthday.

She lights the pretty little candle and it's the only light, the only warmth in her apartment.

"Make a wish Sakura…"

_I want to graduate with top honors_, she thinks; then at least she has something to show for all these years. Or maybe a pay raise so she can finally get that pink Cadillac she's been eyeing. Yes, it's pink; she's not ashamed of that. Hell she could even wish for world peace.

But she knows what she'll wish for in the end. The same thing every year.

"I wish…" she whispers close to the little candle, like it was a friend she's telling a secret to, "I wish that this is the year he finally picks up what's left of his heart."

* * *

><p>Sakura met Gaara in the hospital, in her fifth year in Suna.<p>

He had collapsed from sleep deprivation, a common illness of most architects or, in Gaara's case, architects-to-be. Late nights alone with just a drafting table and the deadliest deadline would make a frazzled, over-caffeinated mess out of anyone.

Sakura, not a stranger to the effects of sleep deprivation herself, proceeded to give the red-head the scolding of a lifetime. What if no one had found him? If he had fainted out in the highway while driving?

All the while, he stared at her with those wide, blue-green eyes, eyes that could rival hers in clarity. No one had ever dared raise their voice at him, not the youngest child of the Sabaku family.

Especially since most everyone was afraid of _him _and his eyes that could see through anyone.

Later, Sakura would learn that he was an insomniac, not much he could do about sleeping properly really. Not unless someone knocks him out cold.

Even when she learned who he was, she had no remorse in her treatment of him. Hey,_ she_ was going to be the doctor here, and people came to _her _for advice and they better well damn take it.

Gaara started walking her home a week after he was discharged; cause you know, doctors (even doctors-to-be) couldn't see their patients like that.

And it took him another week to ask her on a _friendly _date.

And they took it slow, because Gaara was a gentleman, and because she wanted to make sure. That when she— _they _took their relationship to the next level, when they could finally, actually call it a relationship, it wouldn't be just so she could prove something.

To herself. To the people back home. To _him_.

So far though, time has not finished its job of mending wounds and she's still waiting.

Just waiting.

* * *

><p>"I'll be gone for three weeks." Gaara wipes his mouth with a napkin.<p>

Sakura takes another bite of the strawberry cheesecake. "To where?"

They meet up for dinner the day after her birthday. He didn't push for a date on the special day; he knows that it's a personal celebration still. And he had a presentation anyway, he said in a way that Sakura almost believed he wasn't disappointed.

She really doesn't deserve someone like Gaara, who would wait for her patiently. Not when she couldn't wait herself.

But she had to do it right?

Before she lost the will to fight herself?

"Konoha." Sakura almost chokes. "They're renovating the old highschool and our firm got the bid."

_The old highschool… _Images of diamond wire fences with gaps underneath and giant windows looking out into the soccer field came to mind. Along with rickety old stairs, the fourth step of which could (supposedly) grant your wish and a musty old room that smelled of ink.

"Well then," she smiles, "Take pictures for me would you? It's been a long time."

Sakura's told him that she's from Konoha, of course. It's not like she kept it a secret, seventeen years is a good chunk of her life that she can't hide. But there sure as hell are things that she 'forgot' to mention.

But the things left unsaid built the wall they have yet to pass, mean and seemingly insurmountable. There are chips and gaps here and there, but it was far from going down.

Maybe it was time to take a sledgehammer to it?

"Better yet, why don't you bring me home a keychain so I can put the key to _our _apartment on it?"

* * *

><p>If Sakura could describe how she felt the moment she mentioned moving in, it was like jumping off a cliff. And it felt like she was <em>still <em>falling. She was in over her head, and exhilarated at the same time. Hell she almost can't believe it.

But for his sake, she hoped that the fear didn't show in her face, color draining from her cheeks.

Because all that he was… was happy.

The trip home was easier, quieter. Gaara walked her up to her door (not for long, he says), and she gives him a chaste kiss on the side of his mouth. The rare reddening of his cheeks almost banished the heaviness in her chest. Almost.

Sakura doesn't invite him in; that's a battle for another day.

Tonight, she says bye and that's it.

Tonight, she gets back to her inches-thick med books and attacking them with highlighters.

But she can check her Facebook wall for a while can't she? It _was _her birthday and all, and even an impersonal greeting over social media was better than nothing.

Greetings from her co-workers flooded her notification, but all she really cared about was Tsunade-shishou's and Shizune-chan's. There were also ones from Temari and Kankurou, of course… and a message from _Hinata-chan?_

Sakura reads it once. And then twice. She doesn't even hesitate calling Gaara.

"Hey, Gaara-kun, I don't suppose you mind having a travel buddy to Konoha? ... There's a sort-of emergency."

She looks at the message again so she can convince herself that she read it right.

_Sakura-chan, happy birthday!_

_Ano sa… I know this is quite sudden, we haven't seen you in years, or talked to you… But I don't know who else to turn to. You're the only one I could trust with this, I haven't even told Naruto-kun yet._

_I hope you would consider coming back to Konoha for a while. I really need your… support in the matter._

_I think… I'm pregnant._

Well shit.

* * *

><p>AN:

I don't know what this is. Just something that I typed up on a whim… What am I thinking right? I haven't even finished Nyx Eros (far from it!). Should I continue this though?

Don't be lame, review guys!

I do not own Naruto, or the title song in any way.


	2. Nothing

Chapter Two: Nothing

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><p>He's an asshole and he knows it. A bastard, a jerk, and all the things that Naruto says he is.<p>

He knows that.

And if it was any other day, he wouldn't have given two fucks about it. But this wasn't _any_ other day, this was one of the two days in a year that he didn't have any quick comebacks to shield himself from the accusations of his wrongdoings.

Especially those coming from himself.

As Sasuke loads his 9mm with another magazine, he hears his phone ring. It's probably Naruto. He's been calling non-stop since this morning, and he's not sure why the dobe bothers. The idiot knows where he is, hell, probably _everyone _he knew knows he's in the shooting range.

And it's not like he's actually going to answer.

Sasuke sighs and, with everything forgotten and the incessant ringing of his phone disregarded, he commences his yearly ritual. With a focused eye and steady hands, he blasts the human shaped targets into oblivion.

Now if only the sound of gunshots could drown out _her _voice.

* * *

><p>Naruto gave up on calling him right around ten. Thank god, at least the dobe has limits. Sort of.<p>

But now, it's midnight and he's only gotten home, smelling like sweat and grass from the cemetery. No, he didn't go to Asami's grave. That would have been borderline sacrilegious— an offense to both Asami and _her_.

Today, it was Itachi that he needed to talk to.

His brother had always been a wise man. Quiet and always listening. Maybe that's why he always knew what to say.

Too bad that's all his brother can do these days. Listen, right from six feet under. And Sasuke himself was never a man of many words. But even though silence is all they had between them, it was comfort enough.

Itachi always said that being able to let everything out was winning half the battle.

Sasuke walks barefoot, in nothing but his favorite navy blue pajamas, and stares outside of his bedroom window instead of heading straight to bed. The voices are disappearing, sure, barely rising above a whisper. But it'll be a while before he can sleep.

Because now at midnight, it would be six years today.

And it was like he was seeing her oddly-colored, cotton candy hair for the last time again, as she walked out of this house and into the wide world where he couldn't— everyone couldn't— reach her.

"_I'm not leaving because of you Sasuke-kun. I'm leaving for me. So you don't have to think too hard about this. In fact, you don't have to think about me at all."_

Such an annoying woman, he thought. It was so like her to fuck with his mind and make him do just the opposite.

* * *

><p>"Teme! Why haven't you been answering my calls?"<p>

Sasuke looks at the walking disaster that is his bestfriend. He was breathless, like he ran all the way to his office. "What do you want?"

The blonde's blue eyes soften at the sight of… of what exactly he didn't know. The permanent scowl etched on his face? His rumpled hair and shirt? Or maybe his completely bloodshot eyes? Whichever it was, he admittedly felt like crap. And looked like it apparently.

Naruto sits on the chair in front of his desk. "Hate to bother you today man. Just that, Hinata-chan's been acting weird, and I really need your advice."

He raises an eyebrow. How on earth could he help? He barely knew anything about the girl. Yes, they've been friends for who knows how long, but the Hyuuga girl really had problems with … communicating.

"Whatever problems you have in your relationship is between the two of you Naruto."

"You haven't even heard me out! Come on, I'm always there for you whenever you decide to be a complete bastard and regret it later."

That's true. Though of course, he never asked Naruto to be there for him. Sigh. And so he listened to the blonde's tale of woes: _Hinata's acting weird, and cold, and she doesn't want to have sex anymore! She doesn't eat what I make anymore. Plus she's left the house a couple of time without telling me where she went! All she says is she visited Karin in the hospital, though why she'd want to hang out with that psycho I don't even know._

"You do remember that that 'psycho' is your cousin right?"

"Shut up Sasuke. Anyway, you think she's cheating on me?"

Sasuke wants to say 'yes' and kick the blonde out of his office. But anyone who has eyes, except maybe the dobe himself, can see that Hinata _adores _Naruto. The one thing that he absolutely knows to be true about the Hyuuga is that she's been in love with his best friend since the moment he accidentally threw a baseball through her bedroom window.

And besides, he already had a suspicion about her 'weird' behavior. Honestly, Naruto can be so dense sometimes. He tells him as much.

"You're no help at all teme!"

Sasuke stands up, finally full of it. "And what help am _I_ going to be?!"

"Well you're a detective aren't you? And you have a lot of underlings here in the police station. Find out what the deal is."

"Hn. No."

Naruto sighs and Sasuke readies himself, already knowing what the blonde's going to say. "Come on teme, this is the only thing I'm asking of you. As your friend."

_Well that's just not true. _Sasuke can still remember the last time his bestfriend asked something from him. One that he pointedly ignored.

And the manipulating asshole knows what those words meant to him. At least he looked like he was fucking guilty about using his trump card on him.

Sigh. "Fine."

* * *

><p>"<em>Damn it you bastard! You go after her now or I'm kicking your ass!"<em>

Sasuke can still remember Naruto's tear stained face when he found out what happened. For once, he had no demeaning insult to hand-out. Nothing about how he looked like a sap or that he's acting like a pussy. He just didn't have it in himself to say anything at all.

That was the first time he ever really asked anything of Sasuke.

And Naruto's been holding it over his head ever since. Idiot.

Sure, he told Naruto he'd check up on Hinata. But that was just to get the blonde off his back. Besides, it was obvious what the 'problem' was. Sasuke smirks, his bestfriends about to be a father.

Bless that child; at least the kid would have Hinata.

It's afternoon and he leaves the station early. The paperworks, he gladly left to the newbie, Suigetsu. Partly because the loud mouth idiot needed to learn how to respect authority... but mostly because he called him chicken-ass. Take that, asshole.

Sasuke returns to one of his old haunts, the ol' Konoha Highschool. The students are already gone and it's just him, the soccer field, and the awkwardly painful memories of his teenage days.

It was a time like this a hundred years ago, the balmy afternoon sun heating up his face, that he met Asami; tall and statuesque, long brown hair flowing in the wind. And it was a day that was almost the opposite, when everything fell apart.

"I never pegged you as the sentimental type Sasuke."

He looks up to see Kakashi, an old highschool teacher and a close, _close, _family friend. With one hand he waves hello, and with the other, he's holding a six pack of some Kirin Lager beers.

"I thought drinking on school property was prohibited," Sasuke chides as he takes and opens a can.

"That didn't stop you before now did it, Captain Uchiha?"

They sit there in companionable silence, watching the sun descend until it was no more. Though Sasuke can still feel the burn of Kakashi's fleeting glances. He had this habit of looking 'underneath the underneath.' Something that he regularly practiced with the ever stoic Uchiha.

"That time of the year again, huh?"

Silence.

"You know…" Kakashi began, and Sasuke almost got up to leave. The old man also had the annoying habit of giving lectures to people who don't need it. "The school's going to be renovated. They're going to be bulldozing the old wing_._"

_You know, that place where you spent most of your formative years— with friends you almost never see anymore? The place where you met the most important people in your life?_

"You want to have a look before it's reduced to a pile of rubble?"

Sasuke thought about it. He _really _wasn't the sentimental type.

Sasuke took one last swig at the can of beer and threw it as far away as he could. Sometimes, some things were just better off left behind.

Too bad that had never been his strong suit.

Without another word, just a familiar and curt salute, Sasuke started walking away.

Before he could get very far though, Kakashi hollers at him to stop. "Sasuke! I'm supposed to pick up the architects tomorrow at the airport. But my car's still being fixed. Mind picking them up with me?"

Che. What is it with people asking him favor today of all days?

* * *

><p>AN:

And here's another chapter!

When I write, I really take the time to set up the backstory. I've read others that just dove in into the action and that's fine too. What do you guys think? Tedious or necessary?

Anyway, the title is from Nothing by The Script. Try listening to the title songs as you read.

I do not own any part of that song, or the anime, Naruto.

I look forward to the reviews!


	3. All You Never Say

Chapter Three: All You Never Say

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><p>AN: I probably should say it here in the beginning. The title comes from the song "All You Never Say" by Birdy. Try listening to it while you read.

Disclaimer: I do not own the song featured here, nor the manga/anime Naruto

* * *

><p>The call came around midnight.<p>

Her sleep had been unusually lucid and it was as if her eyes had opened even before the shrill ring of the phone broke the peace. Everything that happened after was forever ingrained in her mind.

The sound of the rain as it pelted her bedroom window.

How her shallow breaths came out in icy puffs as she reached for her phone.

Her blood turning into ice, so cold, and her heart constricting so, _so _hard it hurt.

The almost obscene brightness of the hospital lights as she rushed towards the emergency room, wet from the raging storm outside.

Lastly… the absence of _his_ tears or sobs_. _Just the gritting of teeth and the clenching of fist so tight that his nails bit into skin and drew blood.

And everything after _that _was drowned in the static silence.

* * *

><p>"Gaara-kun, this is way too hot for spring in Konoha!"<p>

Sakura chides the red-head as she sorts through the clothes in his luggage. Odd, because for someone who grew up in the near desert-like heat of Suna, he had so many thick clothing. When she moves to examine his closet, "Don't you have any light t-shirts or airy button-down shirts?"

Gaara, for his part, sits at the edge of _his_ bed (because no, she hasn't moved in yet, it can wait after the trip), looking at her with a small smile. Like he was watching something interesting or rare.

"Tell me about your time in Konoha."

If he notices the way her shoulder squares, he doesn't let on. He just waits for her to turn.

"Well that's where I was born, though for most of my life I lived alone." She sits beside him, their legs nearly touching, "My parents were… not there. I lived with the woman who raised me as her own."

"But I had a pretty good childhood. Lots of friends, though there were bullies too. They said it was because of the wide forehead but I'd like to think they were just jealous of my pink hair."

"It _is _every girl's dream to become a pretty pink princess."

"Yeah well I was far from that! I was a little bit of a ruffian actually. My friends always got into trouble and I'd get implicated somehow…"

Her mind wanders a while, a sad but wistful smile displayed on her lips. It has really been so long, too long. She hoped that the dread would stop filling her mind so she could board the plane without her knees shaking; would stop filling her lungs so she could breathe again.

"Anyway! I'll show you all the sights and all the good places to eat! You like ramen right? What else do you wanna know?"

Gaara traces the lines in her palm with his finger, a gentle gesture that took her a while to get used to, and then green directly meets aqua. "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of knowing your friends back in Konoha."

His request doesn't surprise her. It would only be natural; he's been hinting at it since she said she was coming with him.

"Tell you what, I'll introduce you if we see them there." She gives Gaara's hand a squeeze, for support and not out of excitement. "Let's go? We've got a plane to catch!"

How much of that was true, she'll find out when she gets there.

* * *

><p>The decision to leave Konoha didn't come like a blow to the stomach. Even for someone who had never once even imagined leaving the picturesque little town. Even for someone who had imagined, since she was a little girl, that it was the place where she would start a family of her own and raise adorable children with black hair and green eyes.<p>

No, it was more like a dawning revelation; a thought softly materializing from her mind as she woke up one day and she found that she didn't even have the strength to get out of the covers anymore.

A thought turned into fact, like it had been true all along.

A fatalist friend of hers would agree. You cannot escape fate.

And at the time it seemed like the answer to her every problem. Right? If she wasn't there, then no more problems. If she wasn't there, then maybe everyone could move on with their lives.

If only she could say the same for the people she left behind.

"I wish that you had told me earlier Sakura."

She doesn't look at Gaara when she asks him what he meant because she's too caught up in the moment. Outside of the airport, she's drinking in the sights and savoring the feeling of the hot and familiar air on her face. Even the smell and scents, that constant musky smell of the forest and the mountain, gives her a sense of nostalgia.

"I said I wished you had told me you were coming with me sooner. The hotel I'm staying in is apparently already fully booked. Are you sure you have a friend you can stay with?"

She laughs at him, her way of assuring him. "Yes, yes Gaara-kun. Are _you _sure that someone's going to pick us up?"

"Sort of… he said he'd be here early."

Her mind is tired from overthinking all the consequences of her being here, her eyes are heavy from a night of sleeplessness, and quite frankly, her legs are tired from all this standing. Sakura drags her too-pink suitcase to a nearby table where a man in a hoodie was sleeping.

He probably won't mind having a seatmate (tablemate?) right?

As Gaara looks for the guy who was supposed to fetch them, Sakura studies the man in the hoodie. She invents a story out of boredom. Maybe he's drunk, sleeping off a hangover. Maybe he's waiting for his sweetheart whose flight was delayed. Or maybe he's one of the guards who's supposed to be on patrol but is too much of a lazy bum.

Well, he actually _is _a man of the law, based on the logo of the local police on his back.

There's not much she can guess on what the mystery man looks like, everything's hidden underneath his jacket. Well, everything except those undeniably rippling biceps…

"Sakura, found him!"

She turns to the red head standing beside a middle-aged man with gravity defying white hair. He's holding a sign that looks like a kindergartner scribbled on it with a marker: "Sabaku Gaara, welcome to Konoha." And his eyes… are crinkled in what Sakura knows is shock masked by a smile.

Oh yeah, she knows alright.

After all, he did teach her to look underneath the underneath.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura throws herself at him because she is genuinely happy.

Because she knows he might be the only one who would be glad to see her here.

Because he is _home._

"Hey there squirt. I didn't expect to see you here." Kakashi ruffles her pink hair, just like old times.

"Well I didn't expect you to be here so early! Finally got a working alarm clock sensei?"

Kakashi doesn't answer. Instead, he inquires with his eyes. _Who is he to you?_

In turn, Sakura introduces them formally, with the affection of a daughter introducing her lover to her father. "Gaara-kun, Kaka-sensei was my _favourite _teacher in highschool. Sensei, this is Gaara-kun, my … boyfriend."

A little influx of breath. An eye to eye gesture. A wide smile.

This is the first time she's ever called Gaara her boyfriend.

Kakashi wipes an imaginary tear from the corner of his eyes. "Maa, my little girl's all grown up."

"Can it sensei. Anyway, I still can't believe you're early today!"

He chuckles and rubs his neck. "Actually, if you'll remember, you're flight was delayed. I didn't find out until I got here so… my bad."

"Kaka-sensei! You would have stranded Gaara-kun here?"

"Don't worry Sakura, I always have a back-up plan. My driver came here earlier than I did." Kakashi points behind Sakura, where the man in the hoodie assembles himself and gets up.

And it was like the world stopped all over again.

Like that night.

And it's almost like all she can hear is _his _silence. And her heart beating.

And all she can see are his dark, dark eyes staring at her.

"I'm not your driver you bastard," he says in that deep voice of his.

Without a word, he easily wrenches the too-pink suitcase, and what little of her heart she's hidden, out of her hand.

* * *

><p>Saying it's an awkward ride is an understatement.<p>

She knows she probably should talk more to diffuse the tension, but she just doesn't have it in her. All the words she wants to say die in her throat as they come up.

Sakura knows Gaara is looking at her from his peripheral vision. Asking. Worried. Sad.

And she was _so_ embarrassed for this. Gaara had to know though, right? That she was with him, right? She squeezes his hand and mouths the word 'later.'

Her eyes furtively glance at _him. _

Sasuke…

It's been six years but nothing seems to have changed. His black as night hair is still messy. His skin is still so pale, it doesn't look like he's ever left his house. There's still that arrogant and aristocratic look that's very Uchiha. And that makes her want to punch him, anything to mar that face of his.

Because damn it all, he's still the most strikingly gorgeous man she's ever seen.

Even his old pick-up truck is the same, albeit a little rougher around the edges. It still smells the same, like his cologne, so distinctively male.

"So Gaara-kun," Kakashi looks at Gaara from the rear-view mirror. "If I may direct your attention to the right, you'll see Konoha Highschool. It's the oldest secondary school in town, as you know. Sasuke, our good driver, will take us there."

She holds her laughter in when said good driver elbows their sensei on the gut.

They park near the old soccer field, and it's almost as she remembers it. The white lines are faded, the grass hasn't been mowed in a probably a month, and the trees lining the field have grown bigger now. But it's enough, it's _almost _the same.

Gaara tells her that he and Kakashi will check out the building for a moment. And would she be okay staying there for a while?

Sakura says yes too fast, she realizes too late. So she looks to him and is surprised by the anxiety in his eyes. Automatically, a hand touches the side of his face, "I'll be here waiting. Don't you worry."

Everything is quiet when the two leave and it makes her all the more aware of him behind her.

"Are you staying with him?"

She closes her eyes shut. It's been so long since she's heard that voice, husky and a little bit gruff. She doesn't look back because she's afraid she might break down in front of him again.

Or worse, that she might run up to him and hug him.

Sakura would be the first to agree that even after six years, she's not completely rid of him yet. But she's trying. And she thinks she's getting there.

So with her will resolved, she turns to him, arms glued to her side and the emotions on her face completely schooled. "No. I'm staying with Hinata-chan."

Sasuke scoffs at her (she almost expects him to say 'annoying') and climbs up on the back of his pick-up. "She's told you that she's pregnant then?"

"H-how do you—? Does Naruto know?"

Sasuke doesn't answer. He sits on the edge of truck and pats the space beside him, like he wants her to sit with him.

And she does. Go up the truck that is.

"No, he doesn't know. The idiot thinks Hinata's cheating on him."

"What? Mou, I love him but Naruto can be so stupid sometimes. How is he any—"

"Stay with me."

Just like that, he takes her breath away. Stay with him? What on earth is he thinking? Sakura asks Sasuke as much.

"You think Hyuuga Hiashi is going to let you stay with them once he finds out that Hinata is pregnant? He's going to kick you out faster than Naruto can inhale ramen. You know how he feels about us."

It's true. The man thinks they've been bringing Hinata down ever since they met the Hyuuga heiress.

"And so you're suggesting that I stay with you instead?"

Sasuke shrugs, not really looking at her. "Why not? I'm the only one in the house and I have an extra room. Most of the day I'm in the station anyway. Besides…" at this, his eyes so cold zero in on hers, "Everything's okay right? We've all moved on. At least, that's what you wanted me to do right?"

She narrows her eyes at him. What is he playing at here? The Uchiha never shows much by way of emotions, but she can't help but feel like he's a cat playing with his prey. And _she's _the prey.

Sasuke doesn't wait for her to answer, he never did before. He just gets off and opens the driver side's door. "If you need to ask loverboy then go ahead. But the offer still stands."

From afar, she can see Kakashi and Gaara approaching, conversing like old friends.

There's a challenge in his voice that she despised. Despised because she knows that he's baiting her, damn it she does, but she's taking it anyway.

"I'll think about it!" She calls out to him.

Oh, she won't be able not to that's for sure.

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><p>AN: I think I really like this story… it's much easier to write than Nyx Eros, simpler. I gotta say though, all the suspense is hard to put into writing. This is a good way to practice though! And I really like exploring opposites in my stories. Like how here, it's Sakura who left.

Review guys! I'll appreciate it so much! Like, there's nothing I love more than reading someone's thoughts about my stories at the end of a long, thesis-filled day. Insert hopeful face.

KeganHorse- thanks for reviewing this story, and thanks for the compliment! The voice was always my weak point before. I'm happy to be making improvements!

dino- if I'm making you excited with this story, then I've done my job well! Thanks very much!


	4. Empty Apartment

Chapter Fourth: Empty Apartment

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><p>AN: The song is "Empty Apartment" by Yellowcard, and it's one of my favourite songs. I'm not sure if it fits this chapter all too well, but the overall emotion of the song does, me thinks. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the song featured here, nor the manga/anime Naruto

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><p>Sasuke knows it's <em>her<em>.

Right off the bat, he knows it— even as he first hears the heels of her boots getting louder, even before he is aware that it's that sickly sweet favourite perfume of hers that he's inhaling— he knows.

He has no reason to believe it's her, hell it's near impossible and he really has to be crazy to even think of it, but his guts are bullying his logical brain to submission. And hoping against hope, there she is.

She probably doesn't know it's him with his head bowed down on the table, he thinks. And it's just a little bit unfair how he is so aware of her _now_ and she just… isn't.

It's just like the universe to knock him down and completely screw him over. Just when he thought that it's been too long and surely the storm that started raging around him when _she _left has finally calmed.

Suddenly Haruno Sakura comes back, that annoying pink pixie, bringing hell and high waters with her.

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><p>If the supposed prowess of Sasuke's death glare (or "evil eye" according to Naruto) is to be believed, Sabaku no Gaara would already be gone, resting six feet under, pushing the daisies. Though why he's glaring the red head down to the ground, he doesn't know. Some alpha male tendency, maybe.<p>

But then again, the red head seems like he can fight back, mustering up a glare of his own. Not as scary as his, Sasuke thinks smugly, but definitely creepy as fuck (the guy barely changes expressions!).

And so he relishes in the angry glare, one that's tinted with jealousy, that Gaara gives him when Sakura says _he's_ going to take her to Hinata's house. He rolls his eyes when, as the two lovers embrace outside of the hotel, Gaara sends him a look. A warning and a challenge for all intents and purposes.

Whatever.

He doesn't care.

He never did.

"I'll see you later when we've both settled in Gaara-kun. Take me out for dinner?" Sakura smiles up at him as she straightens out his shirt.

The red head kisses her lightly on the forehead. "How can I say no to such a request?"

Sasuke's hand tightens around the steering wheel and, completely by impulse, he slams a hand on the horn_. _"Hurry it up pinky."

Six-years-ago-Sakura would have thrown a hissy fit over that. But this pink haired woman didn't even so much as narrow her eyes, only sighs and frowns as she slides into the passenger seat of his truck.

_Her eyes_… They don't seem as bright as they did before.

She notices him staring from the rear-view mirror. "What Sasuke?"

He seriously ponders that. What indeed? There are a million unasked questions between them…

_So you've been holing up in Suna all this time?_

_How could you act like we didn't exist for six years?_

He starts up the engine again.

"Your eye liner is smudged. You look like a pink panda."

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><p>"<em>What kind of person has pink hair? Freak." <em>were the first words Sasuke ever said to Sakura.

He could see the new neighbors clearly from his favourite tree, on the branch that protruded to their backyard. They had just finished moving in and the pink haired girl, tall and lanky, decided to visit the garden to rest.

They were ten.

Really, he thought that she would cry. Her eyes were watering around the edges and her cheeks, all puffed up and red, reminded him of tomatoes. What he didn't expect was for her to swallow it all down and then, with a fire in her eyes, _stomp _towards him until she was below his tree.

"_Freak? Well what kind of person has a duck's butt for a head?"_

When he promptly fell off the branch and into a bush of thorny roses and she spent the better half of the afternoon patching up his face, he first had the inkling of a suspicion that she would always, _always, _be there from then on.

Another (annoying) constant in his life.

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><p>They don't talk for the rest of the ride.<p>

Sasuke, whose voice probably costs more than gold, should be happy. But isn't. Instead he's _annoyed_, and he's only been with her for four hours after six years, and already she's …

"Stop sighing will you Sasuke? You're an ass."

The bewildered look he throws her is definitely _not _in the repertoire of emotions an Uchiha is allowed to show. And when she laughs at him (_damn it, nothing about this is funny!_) like she always did, it nearly makes him stop the truck abruptly, jump out, and scream.

Instead, his scowl just runs a little bit deeper. He is an Uchiha after all.

Sasuke _hates _her for that, always making him want to do things that he shouldn't be doing.

"Yeah, I know. You're not happy having me here. Believe me, if there was another way…" Sasuke glances at her while he waits for her to continue; there's an unnaturally serene expression on her face, "I'd have taken it. But as it is, we're still in the middle of nowhere, so I'm going to have to intrude on your space for a little while more, okay?"

He knows that the smile isn't real.

Even after all this time, he's still well versed in all her roller-coaster emotions. This smile came from a tired sort of peace, the kind a person waving a white flag gives.

And he would have resigned himself to the same. Except for one thing.

_How _dare_ she come back with someone? _

It's irrational and he knows he has no right.

Haruno Sakura should be able to do, say, and think whatever she wants. She should be able to _date_ anyone she wanted! The day she left them, and refused any kind of contact, she somehow took any right they had to meddle in her life. Like it was something she could put in her pocket and hide.

The fact is he knows he can't expect her to come back and say she's waited and been hoping all these years. Because kami knows he hasn't. The feeling of betrayal doesn't lessen though.

So why did he invite her over? He swears, if this is his sub-conscious plotting some revenge… Kami, stupid is what stupid does.

And right now, miracle of miracles, he realizes that he's completely stupid for Haruno Sakura.

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><p>Sasuke wouldn't call Konoha a ghost town. But it definitely wasn't the bustling city that was Suna. At best, it was a sleepy little town, you can find anything there but there's really not much to do. A little piece of civilization hidden in the leaves, hidden in the mountains.<p>

But it was home.

It's all he's ever known— and yes, an Uchiha is never afraid of change. But something always held him back. He suspects it's the two tombstones lying side by side in the cemetery that kept grounding him like gravity.

And eons ago, he thought that Sakura felt the same, only it was him she kept gravitating to. He wasn't blind, or numb. He understood why she looked at him so and why she would touch him the way she did.

That didn't exactly play out well. For the both of them.

But still. They were friends, right? It used to be Sasuke and Sakura and Naruto against the world. And as much as he wanted them to disappear most of the time, he's not stupid. Especially since they kept him sane most of the time.

"You're spacing out again man."

Startled, Sasuke looks at Naruto like he's just realizing he was there. The blonde looks peeved, he was probably right in the middle of regaling him with whatever story of the day he had saved up for their nightly, Ichiraku meetings.

And he hasn't told Naruto about Sakura being back yet. Because she asked, and damn, he really shouldn't be doing her any favours.

"Do you know what's up with Hinata yet?"

Sasuke smirks. "Yes."

"Well are you going to tell me then?"

"No."

A flying fish cake hits him in the cheeks and it sticks there. "Come on asshole. I'm not paying you for nothing!"

"You're _not _paying me anything dobe. And you'll find out soon enough anyway, I doubt anything stays a secret for too long in Konoha."

Like a how a certain Hyuuga Heiress is now pregnant.

Or that the prodigal, pink-haired sweetheart is walking hand in hand with her new flame, right into Ichiraku.

Sasuke almost laughs at the way her green, green eyes widen, and how she just leaves her mouth hanging open when she sees them. Really now, she had it coming. It's not like she could ever forget that Naruto's favourite ramen stand was Ichiraku.

And when Naruto turns to her, to _them_, and stands up because somehow he's aware of Sakura's presence as well, Sasuke feels some kind of righteous retribution taking place.

"Sa-sakura-chan?"

"…Naruto."

It feels like he, and everyone else around, is intruding in a private moment. Sakura looks like she did back when they were ten, puffed up cheeks and everything. Hell, Naruto, strongest man he's ever known (though he'd rather drown in a sea of fangirls before admitting that) looks about worse. The blonde's already crying.

He stands up and puts an arm around his poor best friend, "Don't bother with her Naruto. Can't you see she's busy with someone right now—?"

Sasuke doesn't know what he expects from the blonde. Though a sympathetic _'Who is this asshole that's following her around?' _would have been nice. So when he sees more than that… more hatred than he's ever seen the blonde give to anyone, much less Sakura— he stops.

"So you're back…" Naruto says through gritted teeth as he tries to hide the tears by covering his face with his arm. But they slip through anyway. Much like the animosity he can't hide.

"I… Yeah, Naruto."

The blonde shrugs off the arm Sasuke put around his shoulders, and nearly cracks a rib when he pushes him away. Sasuke lets him because of course, he's never allowed to forget that it was _him _who "_ruined everything they stood for_."

Naruto glances back at Sakura on his way out. It looks like there's still more he wants to say, more things he wants to ask, more harsh words he wants to let loose. But for once the dobe let's the battle go, just squares his shoulders and shouts as he leaves. "Good! You better stay long then!"

Sasuke looks back to Sakura and the 'boyfriend' (yes, quotation marks because he's still not comfortable with the fact) holding her firmly as she shakes. He notices that, though her tears have finally spilled, there's a ghost of a real smile on her pink, pink lips.

And he starts thinking, that just maybe, she _will _listen to Naruto this time.

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><p>Sasuke's known her all his life.<p>

She used to be such a constant.

He remembers how she always greets him with a smile and a _"Hey there Sasuke-kun!" _like he was the only one in the world that mattered at the moment.

She amazed him with the way she moved, like she was always dancing and walking on the tip of her toes. It always felt like she was so fragile and that was the only way she could move around, soft and fleeting so the world couldn't, wouldn't, break her.

And the way she laughed, god how he misses it! Shyly while covering her mouth with a hand or a handkerchief, the sound of little bells emanating from deep within her, surrounding him.

Even tonight he dreams of her.

_Asami…_

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><p>AN:

If you read this, then review.

Cause it's lame when you don't … Insert pouty, crying face.

So… What _is _Sasuke's problem? I wanna ask so I can figure out if I'm translating it here right. Am I? Am I moving too slow or too fast?

And I'm revealing bit by bit who Asami is. But we're not quite there yet! Any other guesses? So excited in developing this story more!

Anyway, I'm spending more time on this than Nyx Eros. So sorry guys. Just let me get this out of my mind before it escapes and I haven't put it fully on paper. Plus, I really want to work on **Nyx Eros** when I'm not harried, hopefully it turns out better and not tired sounding. For those who read Nyx Eros, yes, I will continue it. Don't worry! That's a promise I made to myself when I re-wrote it anyway.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


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